Semiconductor devices are manufactured by depositing many different types of material layers over a semiconductor substrate or wafer, and patterning the various material layers using lithography. The material layers typically comprise thin films of conductive, semiconductive, and insulating materials that are patterned and etched to form integrated circuits (IC's). There may be a plurality of transistors, memory devices, switches, conductive lines, diodes, capacitors, logic circuits, and other electronic components formed on a single die or chip, for example.
Isolation regions are often used to provide electrical isolation between active regions or electronic components formed on an integrated circuit. Shallow trench isolation (STI) and deep trench (DT) isolation are some types of isolation regions that are widely used in semiconductor devices to separate devices such as transistors, although other types of isolation regions are also used in semiconductor devices.
In some designs, introducing stress to regions of a semiconductor device is desired, to improve device performance. For example, introducing stress to a channel region of a transistor may be desirable in some applications, to increase carrier mobility.
Improved methods of forming isolation regions and stress-inducing structures, methods, and materials for semiconductor devices are needed in the art.